"The clear theft and use of CBS' material, coupled with the admitted destruction of emails, clearly warrants a [temporary restraining order] at this stage," CBS attorneys state in a 28-page response filed today in U.S. District Court. "And ABC's protestations that injunctive relief would harm their business are of no moment because any harm is of their own making."

ABC, which claimed in its rebuttal filing barely 24 hours ago that it has already spent $16 million to market The Glass House ahead of its scheduled June 18 premiere, asked the court to deny CBS' TRO request, arguing that any claim of copyright infringement will not hold up.

"None of the alleged similarities shared by Big Brother and The Glass House involve copyright protectable elements—they are all generic staples of the reality show genre: people living in a house, competing with each other to avoid elimination, and winning a prize," ABC's lawyers wrote. "Nor is the sequence and arrangement of these unprotectable elements the same in Big Brother and The Glass House, foreclosing the possibility of infringement."

In its original lawsuit, CBS name checked 19 former producers, editors, et al. from Big Brother who now either work on The Glass House or at ABC; ABC denies that there was any conspiracy to steal Big Brother and CBS staffers away.

"There is no 'secret sauce' in Big Brother's production process," ABC replied.

CBS, meanwhile, begs to differ.

"Defendants offer a supposed parade of horribles if Glass House is not allowed to air," the litigious network argued in today's filing. "But Defendants miss the most important point: any harm to ABC is a direct result of ABC's own illegal conduct and so should not bar injunctive relief...Furthermore, the harm that ABC alleges—having its production stopped right before it airs—would undoubtedly be worsened if Glass House were pulled off television midseason, after the show began airing."

CBS originally sued ABC on May 10 for copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.

A judge is expected to rule on CBS' TRO request by the end of the week.